Two psychiatrists from Virginia Beach are facing discipline and possible
legal liability for allegedly improperly diagnosing and treating a man
for attention deficit disorder and failing to monitor his use of the prescription
drug Adderall, ultimately contributing to his 2011 suicide. The man’s
family and the Virginia Board of Medicine allege that the doctors
wrongly diagnosed the patient with attention deficit disorder without adequate basis, and
prescribed him increasing doses of Adderall in spite of signs of drug
abuse and more serious mental illness that would require other treatment.

A Tragic Suicide

According to an
article by The Virginian-Pilot, the patient was diagnosed by the defendant with
attention deficit disorder, although he exhibited symptoms of other psychological
disorders. An investigator from the Virginia Board of Medicine has said
that the attention deficit disorder diagnosis was not accompanied by any
documentation of the man’s symptoms or psychological history. The
defendant prescribed the patient Adderall, a commonly used stimulant.
Although Adderall has a high potential for abuse and addiction, the doctors
allegedly did not monitor or manage the patient’s use of the drug.
According to the article, the man’s parents notified the doctors
throughout his treatment that they feared their son was addicted to the
drug and showing paranoid and delusional behavior, but the doctors continued
to prescribe the drug, even increasing the dose at the patient’s
request. In October 2011, the man’s prescription was abruptly cut
off by the doctors, and he committed suicide on November 8, 2011 at 24
years old.

The Dangers of Misdiagnosis and Improper Treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder In the last few decades, the diagnosis of attention deficit disorder has
become more and more common, and the prescription of Adderall, the drug
most frequently used to treat ADD, has increased substantially. While
Adderall works well for treating the symptoms of attention deficit disorder,
it is an amphetamine-based stimulant and has a very high risk of addiction.
If patients are misdiagnosed with attention deficit disorder, they can
become addicted to Adderall unknowingly. If a misdiagnosed patient stops
taking the drug abruptly or is cut off, it can lead to depression, other
personality problems, and possibly suicide. Because of this, it is important
for patients being treated with Adderall to have their use of the drug
and mental health strictly monitored. Prescribing doctors have a duty
to be observant for signs that the drugs they prescribe aren’t working
properly or are being abused. Unlike the doctors in this case, many doctors
use pill counts, contracts, or urine tests to help ensure that the Adderall
they are prescribing is being used as intended. The doctors will go before
the Virginia Medical Board in September to determine if further administrative
action will be taken against them, and the parents’ civil malpractice
lawsuit is scheduled for trial in July 2015.

Responsibility for the Consequences of Misdiagnosis and Mistreatment Patients see doctors every day and rely on their expertise to make decisions
for their medical care. When a doctor prescribes a course of treatment,
there is an expectation that he or she will follow up with the patient
and modify the treatment if necessary. A doctor’s obligation to
evaluate the effects of ongoing treatment is more important when the prescription
of dangerous or addictive drugs is involved. If a doctor in our state
fails to recognize or warn of a serious side effect to a drug that is
being prescribed, and a patient suffers harm from taking the medicine,
the doctor can be held liable in a Maryland medical malpractice lawsuit
for the damages that resulted from the improper treatment.

Are You a Victim of Medical Malpractice If you think that you or someone you love was misdiagnosed or improperly
prescribed a medicine, and suffered injury or death as a result, the dedicated
Maryland malpractice attorneys at Wais, Vogelstein, Forman & Offutt
are ready to discuss your case at no cost to you. We have the experience
that you need to stand up to the lawyers for the doctors, insurance companies,
and hospitals that will be defending your claim. We know what it takes
to get a fair settlement, and we’re not afraid to go to trial and
fight for a jury verdict if a settlement offer is not fair.

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